This invention relates to a decorative laminate which provides a unique decorative effect. More specifically, the invention relates to a laminate which incorporates unpigmented bleached Kraft core sheets saturated with a resin which renders the core sheets translucent.
Decorative laminates are well-known in the art. They are commonly used in making table tops, desk tops, kitchen counters, interior and exterior wall panels, and other articles for residential, office or commercial use. Decorative laminates are characterized by their low cost, durability, impact and abrasion resistance, decorative clarity, resistance to heat and light, and resistance to mild chemicals.
Decorative laminates are typically constructed of a plurality of core sheets, one or more decor sheets, and optionally an overlay. Each of these sheets is impregnated with a resin, assembled into a book and consolidated or bonded together under high heat and pressure to provide a unitary structure.
The core sheets in conventional laminates are unbleached Kraft paper saturated with a phenolic resin. Conventionally, the core sheets are opaque and in many cases they are the brown color of unbleached Kraft. A decor sheet is normally placed on top of a book of the core sheets in order to hide the core and to provide a surface upon which decorative effects can be produced by printing and like techniques. In some cases, a decor sheet may also be placed on the bottom of the core sheet.
Recently, there has been an increasing demand for solid surfacing decorative materials and decorative laminates which mimic the decorative effect of marble or synthetic marble such as Corian (a trademark of E. I. DuPont deNemours Company) as provided interesting effects in decorative laminates. One response to this need has been the decorative laminates described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,220 which discloses a laminate formed from a decor sheet comprising bleached cellulose fibers, titanium dioxide and/or a pearl pigment.